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Ex-President Yoon to receive first court verdict since removal from office

Published: 11 Jan. 2026, 18:46

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol, far left in the second row, and former Minister of Defense Kim Yong-hyun, front right, attend a first-instance sentencing hearing on charges of leading an insurrection at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul on Jan. 9. [NEWS1]

A delay in court proceedings allowed former President Yoon Suk Yeol to avoid a scheduled sentencing request last Friday on charges including leading an insurrection, according to legal sources on Sunday, but he now faces a more demanding week in court.

With the sentencing request postponed to Tuesday, Yoon will receive his first-instance verdict on charges including obstruction of special official duties on Friday. Former first lady Kim Keon Hee will also face a new trial on Wednesday over allegations that Unification Church members were mobilized to join the People Power Party (PPP) en masse.

The court will open the first trial hearing on Monday on charges of general espionage linked to a drone crash in Pyongyang.

Proceedings will continue on Tuesday with a sentencing hearing on charges of leading an insurrection, along with a preparatory hearing on perjury charges tied to testimony from former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo's trial, which claimed Yoon said he planned to convene a Cabinet meeting before declaring martial law on Dec. 3, 2024.

The court will then hold the first preparatory hearing on Wednesday on charges that Yoon helped a suspect evade justice by appointing former Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup as ambassador to Australia while he remained under investigation.

On Friday, the court will deliver a first-instance verdict on charges that Yoon obstructed the execution of an arrest warrant by mobilizing the Presidential Security Service.

The Seoul Central District Court is seen in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Jan. 9. [YONHAP]

Under criminal procedure law, Yoon does not face a legal obligation to attend preparatory hearings, and the one on perjury charges scheduled for Tuesday will likely move because it overlaps with the sentencing hearing in the insurrection case. Even so, Yoon will need to appear in court on Monday, Tuesday and Friday, when hearings and a verdict are scheduled.

Friday's ruling will mark the first court verdict received by Yoon since his removal from office. Prosecutors from the special counsel investigating the insurrection case, led by Cho Eun-seok, have already demanded a 10-year prison term.

Yoon currently faces eight criminal trials. The cases stem from a series of indictments brought since June 2025 by three special prosecutors investigating former first lady Kim, the insurrection allegations and the death of Marine Cpl. Chae Su-geun. The death of Chae centers around a July 2023 drowning during a flood rescue operation and allegations that senior officials pressured investigators to limit the scope of the probe regarding the responsibility for the incident.

The court has also scheduled a preparatory hearing on Jan. 27 over allegations that Yoon accepted free public opinion polling from Myung Tae-kyun in violation of the Political Funds Act, followed by another preparatory hearing on Feb. 3 on charges that he abused his authority by pressuring investigators in the probe into the death of Marine Cpl. Chae.

Prosecutors from former first lady Kim's special counsel team, led by Min Joong-ki, have also indicted Yoon on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act for allegedly making false statements during the 2022 presidential campaign by denying he met shaman Jeon Seong-bae, also known as Geon Jin. The court has not yet set a trial date.

Kim will attend a second preparatory hearing on Wednesday on charges of violating the Political Parties Act, accused of orchestrating — with Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja and former head of the church's global headquarters Yun Young-ho — the mass enrollment of Unification Church members into the PPP.

Former first lady Kim Keon Hee attends a sentencing hearing at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Dec. 3, 2025. [NEWS1]

On Jan. 28, the court will deliver a first-instance verdict on charges including stock price manipulation involving Deutsch Motors and in violation of the Capital Markets Act, as well as acceptance of valuables from the Unification Church, charged as brokerage bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.

Prosecutors from the Kim special counsel team sought a 15-year prison sentence for the former first lady.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM SEONG-JIN [[email protected]]